Señora Goorhouse
¡Hola! Me llamo Señora Goorhouse. I teach Spanish I to 8th graders at Hamilton Middle School.
For the first four years of my career, I taught Elementary Spanish to first through fifth graders in the Hamilton Community School district. I was hired in 2008 to start this program. It was wonderful teaching students year after year and watching their Spanish improve as the months went by. Their joy for learning a new language and experiencing new culture was so energizing!
Now I am teaching many of my former students but at the 8th grade level. Spanish 1 is a high school class through which students will earn high school credit upon completion. I now enjoy seeing my students succeed at a higher level in the language and make new, more in-depth discoveries about language and culture.
After growing up in Saugatuck, going to school in Holland, and having close friends in Hamilton, I graduated from Calvin College in 2008. A few months after graduation, my husband and I got married and we now live in Holland.
I studied Spanish for four years in High School and then went on to major in Spanish and Education at Calvin. I also minored in Sociology and Bilingual Education, which certified me to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) as well. While at Calvin, I did a three week study abroad trip to Mérida, Mexico, and also a four month study abroad semester in Honduras. While in Honduras, I had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
In addition to these trips, I have been to Mexico nine other times for study and personal travel, and I have returned to Honduras just to visit in 2009. During the summer of 2010 my husband and I visited Perú and during the summer of 2011 we traveled to Guatemala. Argentina and Brazil were our destinations during the summer of 2013. In addition, I helped lead Hamilton's exchange trip to Spain during Spring Break of 2013. Traveling is an exciting way to experience new cultures and see the world, as well as keep up on my own Spanish!
In December of 2012, I finished my coursework through Grand Valley State University for my Masters of Education in Literacy Studies with an emphasis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). It is important to me to stay current on topics in the fields of education and language instruction, so I continue to pursue professional development opportunities.
I absolutely love Spanish, especially speaking it and spending time in cultures that speak Spanish. I also love teaching and students which is why this job is such a perfect fit. Besides Spanish, I enjoy sports, the outdoors, spending time with my husband and friends, traveling, coaching 7th grade volleyball and High School track throwers in Hamilton, Zumba, mentoring migrant students, listening to music in Spanish, playing complex board games, lawn games, and the beach.
If you ever have any questions about Spanish class or Spanish in general, please do not hesitate to contact me. I'd love to hear from you! ¡Gracias!